The Wrong Choice
by Sweet Christabel
Summary: A quick one-off story about Elizabeth and her change of heart. JE pairing.


Disclaimer: I don't own any pirates, Governors, Governor's daughters or blacksmiths.

Author's Note: A short extension of the movie ending. How I (and several others) think it should have gone because Jack's a better catch than Will (no offence to Will-lovers, I just don't think he's as good as Jack)

The Wrong Choice

Elizabeth Swann could pinpoint exactly the moment when she realised she had made the wrong choice. If she had been able to take with her a magic mirror from Isle de Muerta and had somehow been able to watch the past few minutes of her life again, she would have been able to point it out to any observer.

She of course had no such mirror, but she did not need it. The moment the soft, inexperienced lips of Will Turner had been pressed to hers she knew she had been fooling herself. Her father was right. He _was_ a blacksmith. Not the dashing, roguishly handsome, heroic pirate she had hoped for. Mistaken him for. That was who she truly wanted. She had thought that she had found him in Will. But now she knew the truth. She knew exactly where he was. She needed only to cast her eyes down to the sea and the tiny figure swimming steadily towards the proud ship, _The Black Pearl_.

Breaking away from Will, she stood back and glanced at the small blob that she knew to be Jack Sparrow. "I'm sorry, Will," she said hastily, feeling truly guilty for the hurt she was about to cause him. "I can't be with you. There's someone else."

His expression changed to one of confusion. "But I thought you loved me."

She winced. "So did I. But I was wrong. I'm sorry, truly."

Her father retraced his steps up to where they stood. "Someone else, Elizabeth?"

"Well…yes. You said a good decision if made for the wrong reasons can be a wrong decision. This is the right decision, made for the right reasons. But it involves an element of recklessness I'm afraid."

"Recklessness?" Governor Swann asked.

"Yes." Turning, she waved at the _Pearl_ with a frantic arm. Someone waved back. She wasn't sure who it was, but it looked a lot like Cotton or Gibbs. She spun round once more. "You would want me to be happy, Will, wouldn't you?"

"Of course."

"Father?"

"You know I would, my dear, but I can't help but wonder what you have in mind."

"This." She promptly fell backwards over the wall.

The Governor gasped and turned to get help, but Will restrained him. "Wait, sir. I know what she's doing."

Jack Sparrow, Captain of _The Black Pearl_, only felt truly at home behind the wheel of his beloved ship. This was where he stood now, reacquainted with his hat and coat and _Pearl_, ready to sail away from Port Royal and the goings on there. Ready to sail away from the Port's fair swan. She had chosen Will, and he had squared with that. _It would never have worked between us, darlin'. I'm sorry. _And he was. Deeply sorry.

He had realised from the start that he was helping Will rescue the woman he loved. He hadn't realised that one of the requirements would be to fall for her himself. But Jack was a pirate. Pirates, even the best, (and he was easily that), did not always get the treasure.

But he had his _Pearl_. That was more than enough. To have both his loves would be more than a man deserved.

Or so he thought.

He had barely begun to get the crew moving again when he observed Cotton waving up at the Fort. He turned, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Then the figure that was distinctly female, and distinctly the unpredictable Miss Swann fell from the Fort landing with a neat splash in the sea below. Her head broke the surface and she began to swim, awkward in her heavy dress.

Jack threw off his hat and coat, muttering, "Bloody woman," before diving elegantly back in the water.

They met more or less in the middle and Jack saw how much the swim had cost her. Her gown was weighing her down with its heavy material, but still she kept on, stroke after stroke, to reach the man she knew she loved. The _Pearl's_ crew helped them on board, and Jack quickly checked her for injuries. She had none, merely needing to catch her breath.

Up at the Fort, Will and Governor Swann watched the proceedings with bewildered interest. "Will she be safe?" the Governor asked.

"Jack's the best pirate I've ever seen. She'll be safe." Will's voice was quiet, and laced with disappointment, but he knew Elizabeth would be happy. That was enough for him for now. Deep down inside, he had known that if she wasn't truly in love with him, then it would be Jack that she would go to.

Back on board _The Black Pearl_, Elizabeth explained her reasoning to the bemused pirate captain in five simple words. "I made the wrong choice."

He glanced up at her, seeing the truth in her eyes. But pirates weren't supposed to have this much good luck, were they? Jack shrugged. What did he care? He had been incredibly lucky. He pulled Elizabeth close and kissed her, just as he had that time on the island, when he should have known better. Only this time she had no worries of the affection being the result of vast quantities of rum. This time, she knew it was real.


End file.
